OK! Interview: Kelly Rutherford & Matthew Settle

They’re achingly in love with each other on Gossip Girl, but in real life, Kelly Rutherford and Matthew Settle are happily married to their own significant others. Kelly, 39, and her husband Daniel Giersch have a son Hermès, 15 months, and Matthew, 38, tied the knot with Naama Nativ two years ago. The on-screen duo sat down with OK! at barbecue joint Johnny Utah’s to dish about their love lives and reflect back on their high school days.

How did you both know you had met Mr. and Mrs. Right?

Kelly: I would sit down with my dates and say, ‘I’m ready to get married and have kids, so if you’re not ready for that right away, let’s be friends.’ My husband, Daniel, was very much a family person, and being with him wasn’t boring!

Matthew: My wife laughed at my jokes. I’m secretly a clown, or maybe it’s not much of a secret! I’m a little putzo as the Italians say, a little bit loopy. I can be bouncing off the walls at times, and she’s right there to catch me.

Do you both like to cook?

Matthew: I have a few dishes. I have Italian friends, and I pick up ideas from them. I’ll make veal marsala, pasta zucco or penne pasta. And I’ll have a mozarella salad.

Kelly: I’m very good at ordering off the menu and eating food that other people cook for me. My husband’s a fantastic cook. I always come with a good appetite!

It’s a key part of the show, but what do you think about high school life?

Kelly: I think high school’s very difficult. You’re figuring out your own power and your effect on other people. You look back and see how you spent so much energy on figuring out things with your parents or your peers.

Matthew: It’s when you start to feel like an adult, and choices you make start to shape your life. I don’t think you realize it then, though. You realize it now, looking back.

For more on Kelly and Matthew, check out their exclusive OK! gallery and pick up the newest issue of OK!, on newsstands now!